Dictionary

an•i•mate

—v.t.1. to give life to; make alive: God animated the dust.2. to make lively, vivacious, or vigorous; give zest or spirit to: Her presence animated the party.3. to fill with courage or boldness; encourage: to animate weary troops.4. to move or stir to action; motivate: He was animated by religious zeal.5. to give motion to: leaves animated by a breeze.6. to prepare or produce as an animated cartoon: to animate a children's story.

—adj.1. alive; possessing life: animate creatures.2. lively: an animate expression of joy.3. of or relating to animal life.
4. able to move voluntarily.
5. Ling.belonging to a syntactic category or having a semantic feature that is characteristic of words denoting beings regarded as having perception and volition (opposed to inanimate).